At 08:07 PM 2/2/2003 -0800, David Masten wrote:
The suspicion that an incident during the ascent of Columbia contributed to its demise during re-entry leads to a few things that a successful private space transportation system must address. (NASA should also address these things, but I won't hold my breath.)1. The vehicle must be simple enough to fix "in the field", or at least jury-rig something that will get them to safety. 2. The crew should have the ability to get out and do a visual and tactile inspection. 3. The crew should have the tools and parts to do simple repairs (such as patching/replacing thermal tiles). 4. There should always be another vehicle ready for (and capable of) a rescue mission.
If launches are routine, then #4 is trivial -- all you need then are either standard mating airlocks on each ship or updated version of the beach balls. One and three are probably not possible for most launches, due to the complexity of any launch vehicle. Two may be hard to arrange as a manned capability unless light versions of the MMU and space suits become readily available and cheap. However, a free-flying camera bot could do the trick.
-p
Mars or Bust!
www.marssociety.com
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